From Goa Trance To Psychedelic Trance

Goa trance:
Is form of electronic music and is a style of trance music which originated in the Indian region of Goa. The music has its roots in the popularity of the Goa region in the late 1960's and early 1970's as a hippie mecca, although the actual Goa trance style would not appear until much later. As the tourist influx tapered off in the 1970's and 1980's, a core group remained in Goa, concentrating on improvements in music along with other activities such as yoga, recreational drug use, and various New Age pursuits.

The introduction of techno style and technique to Goa led to what would eventually become the Goa trance style; early pioneers included Goa Gil and Mark Allen. Many parties (similar to raves) in Goa revolve entirely around this genre of music; Goa is also often played in other countries at raves, festivals and parties often in conjunction with other styles of trance and techno.

Goa is essentially dance-trance music(and was referred to as Trance Dance in its formative years), and as such has an energetic beat, almost always at 4/4 and often going into 16th or 32nd notes. A typical number will generally build up to a much more energetic movement in the second half of the track, and then taper off fairly quickly toward the end. Generally 8-12 minutes long, Goa tracks usually have a noticeably stronger bassline than other trance music and incorporate more organic squelchy sounds.

Goa trance parties have a visual aspect as well, the use of fluoro (fluorescent paint) is common in clothing and decoration. The images are often associate with topics like aliens, hinduism and other religious (especially eastern) images, mushrooms (and other psychedelic imagery), shamanism and technology. Goa trance has a significant following in Israel, brought to that country by former soldiers returning from recreationalpost-army trips to Goa. A great deal of Goa trance is now produced in Israel, but its production and consumption is a global phenomenon.

Goa Trance effectively morphed into psychedelic trance during the latter half of the 1990's. Both styles are generally non-commercial and underground compared to other forms of trance. The goa sound is more likely to be heard at outdoor parties and festivals than in clubs and places like Ibiza. For a short period in the mid-'90's it enjoyed significant commercial success with support from DJ's like Paul Oakenfold. The artist man with no name probably came the closest to being a goa trance.

Psychedelic Trance:
Psychedelic trance (often referred to as psy trance) is a form of trance music, developed in the late 1990's. Trance has a fast beat, in the range 125 to 150 beats per minute (bpm), compared to ambient trance music and other forms like house and techno. It has a strong bass sound that beats continuously without change and is overlaid by many other rhythms. This type of trance is popular in the UK, but is a truly global phenomenon, and interestingly there is an under representation of American artists, although Israeli artists are well represented. As of 2002 many Japanese artists have started to take in this genre from the influence of UK DJ's.